Health

This is an educational film. It is worth seeing. It won't make you happy, but it will make you informed. No one can afford to be uninformed on this topic. As you will understand when you watch the film, it doesn't matter where you live or how far away you are from civilization, you need to be informed about the issues discussed in The Future of Food. Please watch the DVD.

Let me try to put the importance of this film into perspective. I probably can't do it justice, but I'll try.

Today, very interesting news for glaucoma patients was released. The business technology magazine Red Herring broke the news today of a novel drug approval. The drug Ocufors is made from the ancient Ayurvedic herb Makandi. This is the first pharmaceutical product ever approved in India that is completely plant derived, according to Red Herring.

Ocufors has been found to be 30 percent more effective than existing and popular glaucoma drugs. The drug has undergone all the mandatory studies and clinical research at six different locations in India.

On August 23, 2006, I wrote an article about this herb (Coleus forskohlii) and I reviewed the research as well as the botanical information.

Everyone has a few favorite foods. If you are interested in healthy eyes and great eyesight, then kale should become one of your favorite foods. I will highlight other favorite foods for vision as this series progresses. However, this article is specifically about kale. It is about how to cook kale so it tastes good!

This article should be of interest to anyone with glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration or poor night vision. It also applies to anyone who wants to avoid eye diseases like those mentioned or others. In addition, athletes who depend on quick reflexes and good vision should take notice of kale.

We were just discussing the possibility that Vitamin C lowers intraocular pressure. In that discussion, someone raised the question about Vitamin C and kidney stones. I researched this topic recently by carefully reading some of the newest peer review research that claims Vitamin C does cause kidney stones. A careful review shows that this claim is not substantiated. During my research, I ran across The Vitamin C Foundation Forums. I want to refer anyone with questions about Vitamin C and kidney stones to two forum threads (here and here).

Dr. Fuhrman's newsletter also contains a nice recommendation in regard to eating fish. I'll copy part of it here and provide the links to his site if you want to read more. In case it seems as if I'm endorsing everything Dr. Fuhrman says, I want to point out that I have recently written some articles presenting opposing views (here and here). However, you can also see that I think he is generally a good source of information.

Food for Thought

Fish is a good source of EPA and DHA, long-chain omega-3 fats. Unfortunately, it's one of the most polluted foods which we eat. It can't be considered a safe source of these healthy fats.

I just received this via email from Dr. Fuhrman. I share his concerns about the rancidity of fish oils, so I thought I would pass this along. [It looks to me like he misspelled docosahexaenoic acid. I also removed his ad tracking from the link and instead linked to DHA on wikipedia in case you want to know more.]

Dr. Fuhrman's Tip of the Month

Docoshexanoic acid (DHA) is a long-chain omega-3 fatty acid and is one of the crucial building blocks of human brain tissue. DHA has been shown to protect against dementia, depression, inflammatory diseases, Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), allergies, and to offer significant benefits for overall cardiovascular health.

This is a blog about health and fitness. I focus on nutrition, food supplements, alternative medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, organic foods, fitness and more. I sometimes talk about sports and my other interests, but this site's focus is health. In health terms, a free radical is a molecule that is one electron short. Because of the drive to add another electron these molecules attack their neighbors. Scientists speculate that free radicals are linked to our major diseases and to the aging process.